McKnotes: Butternut squash bisque

Tuesday

Oct 2, 2012 at 8:48 AM

A blog by Rich McKinney

Rich McKinney

BUTTERNUT SQUASH BISQUE

Autumn and winter are great seasons for soups. Coupled with a good slice of whole grain bread, a bowl of good soup claims its place on the menu cycle. The thing I like about this recipe is that butternut squash is really easy to grow, and they last for a long time. The color of this soup is just great. I first had butternut squash soup at the Chase Park Plaza Hotel in St. Louis. I decide, before I get to the bottom of my bowl, that I can figure out how to do this. Of course, one can find numerous recipes for this soup on line, but, as is my custom, I’ve tried to keep this easy, so grab your favorite kettle and let’s hit the kitchen.

1 tbsp veg. oil (olive for me)

1 tbsp butter

½ cup diced onion

¾ cup diced carrots

4 cups peeled and cubed butternut squash

3 cups vegetable stock

Nutmeg, salt, pepper

Heavy cream

Don’t get too excited about the dicing. It’s just going to make extra work for you, and you’re going to puree all of those things anyway. In you kettle, add the oil and butter, onion, carrots and squash and the vegetable stock. Bring this to a gentle boil and then simmer until all the veggies are soft and ready to be pureed. You don’t really have to be that careful with this yet because nothing can scorch. Let it cook for long enough to make your kitchen smell heavenly.

Next you puree the mixture. I use one of those wands and puree it right in the pot. It’s so much easier than transferring it all to a blender. Once you have a smooth mixture, you can season with a bit of salt and pepper and a heavy dose of nutmeg, (at least a full tsp. and maybe even a tbsp). Go lightly with the salt.

You’re almost ready to serve. Just before serving, add the heavy cream. If you’re really trying to be healthy, you could substitute creamy Greek plain yogurt, but a little heavy cream never hurt anyone that I know about first hand. One half cup of heavy cream could be enough, but the more you add, the creamier the soup. You can garnish each bowl of soup with a dollop of sour cream. If you have too much soup for your occasion, you can freeze some of the mixture before adding the cream. Then when you decide to use the remainder of the soup base, you can add the cream after you reach the right temperature. This will help you to avoid scorching the cream. Serve with good heavy bread. Pumpernickel is a great choice. Good Jewish Rye bread would also go well. I’m not a fan of white breads, and we’re told they’re not as healthy as whole grain breads.

This is a filling soup. Serve a salad and bread and you’ll have room for dessert. You’ll love the color and the smell of this soup, and if you don’t eat it all, you could paint your walls with it, it’s that pretty.

Ring the bell and yell “Soups On.”

Never miss a story

Choose the plan that's right for you.
Digital access or digital and print delivery.